


New Recruit

by ohcristimhookedonhavocimsodunne



Series: Pete Dunne One Shots [14]
Category: Professional Wrestling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 23:40:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16922580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohcristimhookedonhavocimsodunne/pseuds/ohcristimhookedonhavocimsodunne





	New Recruit

After only 2 years on the independent circuit you’d got the phone call. WWE wanted you to tryout for them. So, here you were, 2 weeks later, in Orlando at the WWE Performance Center for your first day of a 3-day tryout. To say you were nervous would be an understatement. This had been your dream since you were 6 years old and you watched your first WWE Pay-Per-View. You had already met Mr Regal, the coaches and the other 19 people there at the tryouts. You were now ready for the tryout to begin. 

 

DAY ONE - DRILLS

You knew this wasn’t going to be easy, but holy hell you were sure you were going to die. You had never done so many push-ups and star jumps and everything else that Coaches Bloom and Brookside were making you all do. Two of the guys had already passed out and were sent home. You’d all been given a half-hour break and that was when you first noticed him… Pete Dunne. You’d seen him around on the indies, but never really got a chance to say more than a passing “Hi” in all that time. Now he was there, in the weights room with Trent, Tyler and a few of the other guys that you couldn’t remember, and he was watching.

“Alright you lot, break’s over. Get back over here,” called out Coach Brookside.

With one last look over at Pete you turned to walk away. Pete didn’t take his eyes off you.

The rest of the day was spent with more painful drills. But by the end of it, you were still there. 4 more guys had been sent home. The group was down to 13.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DAY TWO - IN RING DRILLS

Finally you were able to step inside one of the WWE’s training rings… Bad news was, it meant more of Coach Brookside’s drills. You’d been in some hard rings over the last 2 years on the indies, so stepping into a WWE ring felt like working on a comfy mattress. You’ll admit that you did get pretty dizzy with all the rolling you had to do, but being in a ring was like second nature to you and you loved it. You’d stepped out of the ring to grab a bottle of water, when out of the corner of your eye you saw Pete. Much like the day before he was working out with the others, but he still seemed to be watching. You decided to see if it was you he was watching and you waved slightly. Pete quickly looked away, pretending to focus on his work out.

“Yup,” you whispered to yourself. “He definitely saw me.”

You quickly cleared your mind and slid back into the ring when you’re name was called. By the end of day 2, you were the only girl left. The coaches seemed pretty impressed with you. The group was down to 10.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DAY 3 - PROMOS

This was the day you’d been dreading… Promo day. It wasn’t that you weren’t good at promos, it was just that you had a tendency to panic when you were put on the spot.

You stood with the others that were left around the centre ring when Mr Regal and Coach Brookside entered.

“Morning gentlemen… And lady,” smiled Mr Regal, nodding at you once he entered the ring. “Welcome to your final day here at the Performance Center. As you know today we will be looking at how well you present yourselves in front of the camera. We’ve invited a few of our current NXT roster to help out…”

As he said that the door to the locker rooms opened and out walked Aleister Black, Drew McIntyre, Ember Moon, Hideo Itami, Johnny Gargano, Roderick Strong, Mark Andrews, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and… your heart almost stopped because the last one out was Pete.

As they all stepped into the ring you found yourself just watching Pete. You knew you were going to be paired with Ember seeing as you were the only girl left, so you were going to make the most of watching Pete while you could.

You watched as Mr Regal went along them all giving them a sheet with the person they would be paired with. You watched as Pete looked at his sheet, shook his head and walked over to Regal. Your heart began to race as you watched them both look over at you as they spoke, before Mr Regal called Ember over and switched out her sheet with Pete’s.

“Okay,” Mr Regal said, clapping his hands together. “When your name is called, you will go with your NXT superstar and begin working on your promo. We will call you back into here, over by the ramp over there, and will record your promos after lunch. So you have until 1pm to be prepared.”

You glanced at the clock, 3 hours to prepare. You can handle that… You hoped.

Ember was the first one up and when she didn’t call out your name, everyone looked at little surprised. Over the next few minutes everyone got paired up and went off to a different part of the Performance Center, until there was only 2 people left… You and Pete.

“C'mon then doll,” smirked Pete, jumping down from the apron. “You’re with me.”

You grab your water bottle and follow him, not saying anything. You followed Pete into one of the quieter rooms.

“You don’t talk much, do ya doll?” chuckled Pete as he shut the door behind the two of you.

“Sorry. I’m just trying to work out why you made Ember switch with you…”

“Cause I reckon that I can get the best promo outta ya, and pretty much guarantee ya a spot here.”

“Really?”

“Definitely,” Pete smirked slightly. “So, show me what ya got.”

“W-what?”

“Ya promo skills,” Pete chuckled lowly.

“Oh… right…. um,” you stuttered, wringing your hands nervously in front of you.

“No need to be nervous, doll, it’s only us here,” said Pete.

“I know… I, um, I just need a sec to think,” you said, sitting on the edge of the table and quickly taking a sip from your water bottle. “Matches I can handle, I can ignore the fans and focus on what I’m doing… Promos are completely different. I have a… habit, if you like, of freaking out while trying to do them.”

“Anxiety attacks?”

You nod, still willing your hands to stop shaking. You shut your eyes and began saying the first promo that came into your head.

“Nah,” Pete’s voice cut you off. “They’ll have heard all that stuff before. Ya need to bring a bit more of your personality into it. Don’t just be some character. Be you…”

“O-okay. Be… me…”

You could feel Pete walking around the room as you started to talk again. When he didn’t interrupt you, you kept going feeling a little more confident. You went over it a few more times, your eyes closed the whole time, but you could still feel Pete’s eyes on you and you could hear his footsteps around the room.

“Perfect… Now try it with ya eyes actually open,” Pete prompted from close by.

You slowly opened your eyes to find Pete standing directly in front of you. You blinked at how close he was, but before you could say anything you felt his soft lips against yours. It wasn’t a major kiss, just a short, soft kiss that left you wanting more as he pulled away.

“Two years, I’ve waited to do that,” he breathed softly.

“T-two years?”

Pete’s eyes went wide when he realised you’d heard him and he walked out of the room, leaving you sat alone and stunned.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You hadn’t managed to eat anything. You’d spent the whole time walking around the block, trying to figure out why Pete had kissed you. It was now 5 minutes to 1 and you were back at the Performance Center waiting for the others to come back. Everyone else walked back in with their NXT star, but you couldn’t see Pete anywhere. You weren’t sure whether to be a little hurt by that, or relieved that you didn’t have to deal with seeing him on top of your nerves about the promo.

Just then Mr Regal and the coaches walked in, shortly followed by a smug looking Pete. Pete sat on the edge of the ring, just behind where the camera was set up and winked at you. You felt your face flush, but you tried to hide it and turn back to Mr Regal.

“Right, you should’ve had plenty of time to practice, so, Miss {Y/L/N}, if you wouldn’t mind. You’re up first.”

You gulped as you stood up. Pete motioned for you to walk passed him. You made your way towards him, your heart pounding hard in your chest.

“Ignore everyone else, and just look at me,” he whispered in your ear when you were close enough.

You nodded slightly, and walked up to the entrance ramp and to the mark placed on the floor.

“When you’re ready, my dear,” smiled Regal.

You went to close your eyes, but you saw Pete shake his head and silently remind you to keep your eyes on him. With a deep breath, you started…

Pete’s eyes never left yours as you spoke. His smile gave you more confidence and you calmed down and gave the promo everything you had.

“That, gentlemen,” said Regal when you’d finished. “Is how you deliver a perfect promo. I hope you were all paying attention. Thank you Miss {Y/L/N}.”

You smiled and went to sit back down. As you passed Pete he lightly grabbed your arm and pulled you to sit next to him on the ring apron.

“You were fucking amazing up there doll,” he whispered. “Told ya so.”

“T-thanks,” you blushed.

You and Pete sat in comfortable silence as the rest of the hopefuls went through their promos. You had to admit, you thought they were all really good, but Pete’s grumbled remarks made you think otherwise.

Eventually everyone had finished.

“Thank you everyone for all your hard work over the last 3 days. Those of you who were successful will be notified within the next 2 weeks. Again, thank you.”

Everyone got up to leave. As you went to slide off the ring apron you felt something being slid into the palm of your hand. When you went to look at it you saw Pete slowly walk away towards the locker room. You slid off the apron and picked up your bag. As you headed towards the exit door you took one more look around the Performance Center, catching sight of an almost sad looking Pete stood by the window of the weights room where you first saw him. You waved slightly and walked out of the Performance Center. As you left Pete shook his head and marched up to Regal’s office.

“Regal, I think we need a word,” said Pete as the door closed behind him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It’s been a week since your tryout and you had just got a letter from WWE offering you an NXT contract. You were in your dancing around with excitement when a piece of paper fell out of the pocket of your hoodie. Bending down you realised it was the piece of paper Pete had slipped into your hand. You sat on the end of your bed and opened it. On it was a phone number and a note…

“If you ever feel scared just think of me. You’re amazing and I hope I’ll hear from you again. Pete.”

You smiled softly and reached over to pick up your phone. Before you can stop yourself, you dialled Pete’s number and waited…

“Hello?”

“H-hey Pete…”

“{Y/N}?”

“Yeah,” you smiled, even though he couldn’t see it.

“Ya took ya time phoning,” he chuckled.

“I… um, yeah, sorry. I put the piece of paper away and forgot where it was ‘til just now.”

“It’s alright doll.”

“So… um, I never really got to thank you for helping me at my tryout….”

“Don’t worry 'bout it, doll. Honestly,” Pete said, cutting you off.

“Well can I at least treat ya to a coffee to say thanks?”

“How ya gonna manage that? I’m in Orlando and you’re…. where are ya?”

“Tampa… at least for a few more days then I’m moving permanently to Orlando.”

The line goes quiet for a minute or two. You even check to make sure Pete didn’t hang up.

“Ya moving permanently to Orlando?” Pete finally asks.

“Yup. Got myself a new job down there,” you said, sure that your smile was obvious through the phone.

“You got the contract?”

“I got the contract,” you grinned.

“Fuck yeah!” Pete yelled, causing you to laugh. “Don’t worry 'bout finding a place down here, ya can stay with me and the lads.”

“I couldn’t do that…”

“Ya can, and ya will. God knows we need some supervision 'ere,” he chuckled. “I am so fuckin’ proud of ya doll.”

“Thanks Pete. I wouldn’t have got it without your help.”

“Yeah ya would. Ya amazing doll.”

You blushed.

“So, when ya coming down to Orlando?” Pete asked.

“As soon as I can get everything packed up here and find a way to get there. So probably a couple of days.”

“A couple of days… Too long,” he muttered. “Hang on, doll. Don’t hang up.”

You heard Pete move the phone and talk to someone in the room with him. You tried to make out what he was saying.

“Me and lads will be there to help ya tonight.”

“Wait… what?”

“Don’t worry 'bout nothing. Text me ya address later so we know where ta find ya. Better get packing doll.”

“I… O-okay.”

“Don’t worry doll, alright?”

“Okay,” you sighed, knowing you couldn’t win.

“That’s my girl. I’ll let ya know when we’re almost there. See ya soon doll.”

“See you soon.”

You thought you heard him say something else, but the line had gone dead. You stared at your phone in shock. Pete was literally going to drop everything to come and help you AND he was going to let you stay with him and his friends.

You quickly sent him a text with your address on it before rushing off to find some boxes to pack your stuff.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You had just about finished packing your stuff when there was a knock on your door. You looked at your phone and realised you had a missed message from Pete telling you that he was on his way.

“Shit,” you muttered to yourself, quickly running a hand through your messed up hair as you ran to open the door.

“Hey,” you said breathlessly as you opened the door.

Pete was stood there with Trent and Tyler. The younger of the 3 looking thoroughly exhausted.

“Hey doll,” smiled Pete.

“Hello miss,” nodded Trent.

Tyler waved sleepily. You moved aside to let them in.

“Got everythin’ packed doll?”

“Um, yeah. Everything else came with the place so it’s gotta stay here.”

“Lovely place miss,” smiled Trent.

“You can just call me {Y/N}, you know Trent,” you chuckled.

“Then {Y/N} it is,” he replied.

Pete shot him a slight glare.

“So, ya ready to come stay with us?” asked Pete.

“Are you guys totally sure you’re okay with me staying with you? I can totally find a little apartment or something….”

“Doll, ya staying with us,” said Pete. “We want ya there… I want ya there.”

You looked at Trent who nodded, then at Tyler who yawned giving you two thumbs up.

“Well, it’s a bit late to head off now, so how about you boys stay here the night and we’ll get going in the morning?”

“I like that idea,” yawned Tyler, making you all chuckle.

“You’ll have to argue over who sleeps where… Although I’ve only got one spare room.”

“I’ll stay here,” said Tyler, sitting on the couch. “I’m too tired to move further.”

“You can take the spare room, Trent,” said Pete. “I’ll kip on the floor down here.”

Trent nodded and with a “thank you” he headed upstairs.

“Y-you don’t have to sleep on the floor,” you almost whispered to Pete, holding your hand out for him.

“Doll, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he sighed.

“Oh,” you said, dropping your hand. “O-okay.”

You turned away from him so he couldn’t see the tears in your eyes.

“T-there’s a couple of blankets in the top box… Night.”

Without another word you walked upstairs to your room. As soon as the door closed your tears began to flow.

Downstairs Pete was sat on the chair, with his head in his hands.

“Why’d ya stay down here?” asked Tyler. “She was tellin’ ya to go stay with 'er.”

“I… I dunno,” sighed Pete. “There’s fuckin’ something 'bout 'er Tye. I… I don’t wanna fuck it all up.”

“She’s got to ya mate,” chuckled Tyler, closing his eyes. “Ya fallin’ in love mate.”

Neither you or Pete got any sleep that night.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At first light you got up and slowly crept downstairs not wanting to wake the guys up. You had just made it to the kitchen when you saw the light was already on. Holding your breath you walked in to see Pete making himself a coffee.

“Um, morning,” you said quietly.

“Mornin’ doll,” he replied, not looking up. “I didn’t wake ya, did I?”

“No… I, um, didn’t get much sleep.”

“Oh… Um, look, 'bout last night.”

“No need to explain. It’s fine.”

The two of you were interrupted by Tyler.

“Mornin’ lovebirds,” he smiled cheerfully.

“Shut it Ty,” muttered Pete, walking passed you and Tyler.

“Shit. Guess I should'a kept my mouth shut,” sighed Tyler.

“It’s okay. You want some coffee?”

“Nah. Best go wake grandpa Trent, so we can get a shift on.”

“O-okay.”

Soon you were left alone with your thoughts again. You quickly wiped at the tears that were threatening to fall again, and busied making yourself a coffee. Desperately trying to avoid going into the living room and seeing Pete.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Eventually all your stuff was in the back of your car and the car the guys had driven in.

“I’ll take our car back,” said Trent as he shut the trunk.

“I’ll follow in mine,” you nod.

“I’ll go with Trent. His sense of direction is getting worse in his old age,” chuckled Tyler getting in their car.

“I’ll come with you guys too,” said Pete.

“How will {Y/N} know where to go?” asked Trent.

“Oh… Yeah,” said Pete, looking over at you. “Is it okay if I come with ya?”

“Fine,” you said, getting in the car and shutting the door.

“Peter,” said Trent quietly. “Talk to her. Tell her what’s going on.”

Pete sighed and nodded, knowing Trent was right. He slowly made his way over to your car and got in, not saying anything. You turned the car on and started to follow Trent.

The silence in the car was deafening, so you reached over and turned on the radio. Pete didn’t move, just kept staring out of the window… Until you made it onto the interstate.

“I’m sorry I’ve been such an ass,” he said, almost too quiet for you to hear over the radio.

You didn’t reply, but you did turn the radio down a bit.

“Did you talk ta Tyler this mornin’?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Oh… Okay.”

“Was he supposed to?”

“Yes… No… I’d hoped he’d 'ave helped me out.”

“Why would he need to help you out?”

“Cause he’s better at this sort of shit than I am,” Pete confessed.

You glance over at him.

“There’s no need to be nervous, there’s only us here,” you say softly, reminding him of what he told you the week before.

His mouth twitched up into a small smile.

“Using my own words against me, huh?”

“They worked before,” you shrugged.

Pete thought about it for a few minutes as you both fell back into silence.

“I had all this worked out in my 'ead,” Pete eventually said. “But now it all feels ridiculous.”

“Just say it. Sometimes overthinking makes things worse.”

“Not here,” he said. “I wanna be able to say it when I have ya full attention and aren’t likely ta kill us.”

“Is it that bad?”

“I hope not,” he sighed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You eventually make it to the guys place in Orlando. It wasn’t huge, but it was still pretty big. Trent and Tyler had already got your stuff out of their car and were taking it inside when you and Pete arrived. You and Pete get out of the car.

“Can yous two grab the stuff for us? I just need ta talk ta {Y/N} real quick?”

Trent and Tyler gave him a thumbs up. Pete gently took hold of your hand and lead you into the house. He looked around as if trying to figure out where the best place to talk will be. Eventually he lead you through the house to the backyard.

“Not perfect, but it’ll do,” he muttered to himself.

“Pete,” you sighed. “What’s going on?”

“There’s somethin’ I’ve wanted to tell ya and I… I have no idea how ta do it.”

“Just say it.”

“I… I… fuck, why can’t I just say it?” he said, getting angry with himself.

“Just close your eyes and pretend you’re just practicing what you want to say to a mirror,” you say softly, lightly running your thumb over his knuckles.

“Okay,” he sighed, closing his eyes. “I can do this.”

You stood quietly watching him. Your heart pounding. You were scared of what he might say.

“When I saw ya that first time at the show 2 years ago in London, I couldn’t take my eyes of ya,” he said quietly, his voice shaky. “I couldn’t even talk to ya, I was that mesmerised. Every time I saw ya since, I kept getting the same feelin’. T-then I didn’t see ya again for months, I’d got hurt and couldn’t do tha tours. I’d blow up Tyler’s phone asking him about ya. I 'ad ta buy him a new phone when he got 'ome for that.”

He chuckled lightly at that, making you smile.

“Then this whole WWE tournament thing came up, and I was 'appy cause I thought maybe I’d see ya again… But obviously I didn’t,” he sighed again. “I’d all but given up ever seeing ya again, and then ya walked into the Performance Center last week. I couldn’t believe it was really you.”

Pete slowly opened his eyes and looked at you.

“Ya still looked as beautiful as I’d remembered. I couldn’t take my eyes off ya. Then Regal mentioned needing some of us ta help out with the promos, and I knew then I just 'ad to spend some time with ya. When we got in that room I just wanted to blurt out everythin’… I wanted ta ask ya out on a proper date and everythin’… But then I saw how nervous ya were and I froze.”

“That’s why you disappeared so quickly after you kissed me…,” you said softly, the realisation of it all sinking in.

“Yeah… I thought ya were gonna slap me for that,” he chuckled slightly. “That’s why I just gave ya the note with my number on it. I was too scared to just ask ya to call me.”

“I bet me making you wait a week hasn’t helped your nerves,” you chuckle lightly.

“Not really. I’d even gone to Regal and begged him to tell me if they were gonna sign ya,” he smiled. “But when ya phoned and said ya were coming to Orlando… The lads’ll tell ya, I couldn’t stop smiling. I thought I’d finally be able to tell ya how I feel,” his smile faded a little. “But I fucked that all up last night.”

Pete let go of your hand and turned away from you, his head hanging low.

“I could’ve gone with ya… I could’ve told ya all this… I could’ve finally been able to hold ya and tell ya that I…”

You watched him, biting your lip, with tears in your eyes. When he didn’t start talking again you walked over to him and wrapped your arms round him from behind.

“I…,” he licked his lips that had suddenly gone dry. “I think I’m in love with you {Y/N}.”

A few of your tears escaped from your eyes. Pete slowly turns around in your arms to look at you.

“Please tell me those are happy tears…” he said, his voice sounding so small.

“They are,” you smiled softly. “I love you Pete.”

You saw his shoulders visibly relax when you said that and his arms wrapped around your waist.

“I can’t promise that I’ll be any good at romantic stuff, but I promise I’ll try,” he said honestly.

“I don’t care about the romantic stuff,” you smiled as you leant up slightly on your tiptoes and kiss him softly. “As long as you kiss me whenever I want, I’ll be happy.”

“Oh that I can definitely do,” he smirked, picking you up and kissing you deeply.

“Hut hum,” said Trent clearing his throat, breaking the moment. “Am I right to assume that after Tyler and myself have just put all {Y/N}’s stuff in the spare room, that we’re gonna have to move it into yours now Peter?”

“Yup. Sorry mate,” smirked Pete.

“Bollocks,” groaned Tyler. “We’re gonna need fuckin’ earplugs now.”

“Or ya can both fuck off for a couple of hours,” winked Pete.

You and Pete both started laughing as he shifted you in his arms and carried you towards the house. After all this time, the Bruiserweight was finally yours.


End file.
